Big Bang Testing

Inexperienced programmers will sometimes code up the component parts of a big program and then bundle them together for the testing. If you don't know much about programming, that link is very clear about why it is a bad idea. Changing programs late in development is extremely complicated and expensive.

Now imagine someone trying to "big bang test" a new program when they haven't clearly outlined what the specifications are. (Danger, flee!)

If you don't clearly know what each part of the system is supposed to do, and haven't made sure (by testing it first!) that it will in fact do the proper job, you are begging for failure, and the bigger the project the more spectacular the disaster that will follow. Your best bet is to be very much elsewhere when everything hits the fan.

Instead of "programmer" read "legislator," instead of "program" read "suite of laws," and instead of "big bang testing" read "we have to pass it to find out what's in it."

I like AVI's rule that "When you hear the word "comprehensive," zip in the phrase "cocaine-based" instead." Step after step wins more races than a giant leap. The problem is that when it all fails the politicians are nicely retired elsewhere, and we are the ones flat on our backs.